Surgeons and other medical personnel often use gauze for various purposes during surgical procedures. For example, during a surgical procedure, gauze mesh can be used to absorb biological fluids (e.g., blood), staunch bleeding, improve one's grip on a surgical instrument, and/or to facilitate gripping and holding body tissue (e.g., organs, skin, etc.) of the patient.
Gauze mesh for surgical applications is conventionally available in loose pieces that can be picked up and held by a surgeon or other medical staff member during a surgical procedure. For example, during a surgery, a surgeon or other medical staff member can grip one or more pieces of gauze mesh and place that material into contact with the patient or instrument to achieve a desired effect (e.g., absorption, improved grip, etc.). The use of loose pieces of gauze mesh, however, can create some difficulties. For example, it can be difficult or awkward to hold onto a piece of gauze mesh while attempting to perform the action for which the gauze is being used, such as grasping and retaining body tissue to aid in retraction of a surgical opening.
The loose form of conventional gauze mesh and other similar materials can also make those materials susceptible to being misplaced and/or retained within a patient after the surgery is completed. For example, according to occurrence rates described in a February 2011 edition of The Joint Commission Journal for Quality and Patient Safety, a surgical sponge is left behind in a patient once every 8,000 operations. Although sponge retainment in a patient is a relatively uncommon event, when one considers that that millions of surgical procedures are performed each year in the United States alone, the actual number of such occurrences is not insignificant. Moreover, the impact of sponge retainment (or the retainment of other similar objects), can be very hazardous to the health of the patient and, in some instances, can result in the patient's death.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide improved surgical devices that can replace and/or supplement conventional gauze mesh materials to provide improved functioning and greatly improved risk management by reducing the occurrences of gauze misplacement and/or retainment within patients.